Orthodox fitness coach says strength training should begin at 30, not 50

In a Hebrew-language interview on Moshe Mans’s health show, fitness trainer Shimon Tzubli challenged common beliefs about exercise in the haredi sector, saying many people misunderstand both weight training and weight loss. He argued that gym work is not mainly for “bulking up,” that women should also lift weights, and that exercise is not a miracle weight-loss tool. Instead, he said, most slimming comes from diet, while training is essential for health and disease prevention.

Tzubli said he began studying professionally in 2019 at Wingate’s haredi branch in Bnei Brak after years of self-directed training. He described how he first tried to change attitudes in Modiin Illit, opening a hidden basement studio where haredi clients came discreetly, including women who wanted treadmills or exercise bikes kept out of sight so neighbors would not see them. He recalled telling customers that leading rabbis had bought home exercise equipment, yet many still feared “what will people say.”

He said the situation has changed sharply. When he later opened a fitness store in Modiin Illit, he expected backlash, but instead even the city rabbi’s brother visited and praised the store. Still, he said, some yeshiva leaders reject attempts to add health and anatomy lessons. He added that one yeshiva invited him only after two students drowned in a nearby stream, realizing that boys need structured outlets.

Tzubli warned that people often seek help too late, saying many only start thinking seriously about fitness at 40 or 50, when reversal is difficult. He told of a man in his 50s who came to buy a 5,000-shekel elliptical machine because a doctor said only intense full-body exercise might save him before heart surgery. While he was in the store, the doctor called back to say the tests were back and that exercise could no longer help, and the man needed surgery in France. Tzubli said this was heartbreaking and proof that people should have started at 20, 30, or 40. He concluded that exercise, especially resistance training, should be part of life from age 30, because by 50 it may already be too late to protect the heart and avoid future injury.